Some psychological and social aspects of propaganda

Abstract

If we may believe the cf. Higham-Advertising ch. II, social and political records of the world one hundred years ago, it is extremely problematical whether there existed in England, for example, anything of the nature of organized propaganda as we know it today. Leaving aside for the moment the question of what is really to be understood by the term propaganda, and meaning by it roughly the attempted control or formation of public opinion, we can find very few traces of any large scale building up of a public opinion favorable to a cause or movement before the commencement of the present century. True there has always been advertising in some shape or form cf. Higham-Advertising ch. II; civic publicity was a feature of ancient Athens and Rome; in Pompeii and Herculaneum, walls in prominent positions were covered with important public announcements printed in black and red. Both the Hebrew Kings and Prophets, and the Egyptian aristocracy, gave permanence to their announcements by inscribing them on papyrus or parchment. The Town Crier in the Middle Ages was an important municipal dignitary. Caxton printed handbills and thus initiated a method of publicity of far reaching influence. Advertising in newspapers became popular from about 1702 onwards. But in all these early attempts at publicity we cannot but notice that there is nothing organized or directed, there is no effort to make any sort of appeal to any sort of public. Advertising is purely a matter of announcing trade notices or public meetings; everything is spasmodic, undirected and crude.